Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connection mechanism for connecting apparatuses to each other and an image forming apparatus including the connection mechanism.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known an image forming apparatus including a sheet post-processing apparatus for performing sort processing on a predetermined number of sheets on which images have been formed by an image forming apparatus main body and for performing post-processing, such as punching and stapling.
Generally, the sheet post-processing apparatus is separably connected to the image forming apparatus main body by a connection mechanism. Such a configuration is usable for facilitating a jam handling process at the connection portion between the post-processing apparatus and the image forming apparatus main body. As discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-295758, in the connection mechanism, a shaft to be locked is provided on the image forming apparatus main body side, and a rotatable hook is provided on the sheet post-processing apparatus side. The image forming apparatus main body and the sheet post-processing apparatus are generally connected to each other by setting the hook on the shaft to be locked. In the connection mechanism discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-295758, however, the transfer of sheets becomes unstable due to play and clearance provided to the hook side, resulting in deterioration in the precision of the post-processing operation, such as punching and stapling. Further, the transfer of sheets from the sheet feeding apparatus becomes unstable in an image forming apparatus to which a sheet feeding apparatus capable of storing a large amount of sheets and a sheet feeding apparatus including a plurality of feeding cassettes are connected, resulting in deterioration in image precision.